Hammer Lane http://fleetowner.com/blog/25201/feed
David Cullen offers his take on how truck fleet owners are impacted by today’s current events. Follow David on Twitter: @David_L_CullenenIt’s your skin in this game http://fleetowner.com/blog/it-s-your-skin-game
<div class="node-body blog-body"><div></div><p>Ever since the Watergate scandal inexplicably captivated my teenaged self, my favorite sport to follow&mdash; even to the point of dabbling in it&mdash; has been electoral politics.</p>
<p>As with any rabid fan, I got pulled in more and more until I was persuaded a few years back to run for a seat on my town council. I was elected to serve a two-year term and then re-elected, but increasing constraints on my personal time precluded seeking a third term.</p></div>
<p><a href="http://fleetowner.com/blog/it-s-your-skin-game" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://fleetowner.com/blog/it-s-your-skin-game#commentsNewsHammer Lane Mon, 22 Dec 2014 21:39:00 +0000145831 at http://fleetowner.comNot even The Gipper can score this fuel taxhttp://fleetowner.com/blog/not-even-gipper-can-score-fuel-tax
<div class="node-body blog-body"><div></div><p class="rtecenter"><em>&ldquo;If you&#39;re explaining, you&#39;re losing&rdquo; &mdash;Ronald Reagan</em></p>
<p>Conjuring the image&mdash; even more so, the actions&mdash; of a deceased President of the United States to move a political football down the field is a play politicians love to call. Especially when the two-minute warning has sounded for a cherished piece of legislation.</p></div>
<p><a href="http://fleetowner.com/blog/not-even-gipper-can-score-fuel-tax" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://fleetowner.com/blog/not-even-gipper-can-score-fuel-tax#commentsHammer LaneNewsRegulationsHammer Lane Thu, 04 Dec 2014 17:16:00 +0000144051 at http://fleetowner.comTruck vs. Rail http://fleetowner.com/blog/truck-vs-rail
<div class="node-body blog-body"><div></div><p>Trucking is never off the radar screen of the railroads. <a href="https://www.aar.org/BackgroundPapers/Rail%20Intermodal.pdf">Even with the Assn. of American Railroads (AAR) pointing out that &ldquo;The domestic share of intermodal traffic has been rising in recent years&rdquo; and that total U.S. truck-rail intermodal volume in 2013 set &ldquo;a record of 12.8-million containers and trailers,&rdquo;</a> outside the hallowed intermodal zone of cooperation, the decades-long war between railroads and motor carriers over freight supremacy rages on.</p></div>
<p><a href="http://fleetowner.com/blog/truck-vs-rail" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://fleetowner.com/blog/truck-vs-rail#commentsHammer LaneNewsHammer Lane Tue, 18 Nov 2014 16:06:00 +0000142851 at http://fleetowner.comTouching more than truckshttp://fleetowner.com/blog/touching-more-trucks
<div class="node-body blog-body"><div></div><p>A straightforward-- and fun-- fundraising and public-awareness event conducted this autumn by an industry supplier was so successful out of the gate that it is hoped it will serve as a template for putting on similar happenings across the country.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Operation: Big Wheels for Heroes&rdquo; was hosted by <a href="http://www.bestpass.com/">Bestpass, Inc.</a> on Sept. 27th, in New York&rsquo;s capital city, Albany, in partnership with the <a href="http://www.nytrucks.org/">New York State Motor Truck Assn.</a> (NYSMTA).</p></div>
<p><a href="http://fleetowner.com/blog/touching-more-trucks" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://fleetowner.com/blog/touching-more-trucks#commentsHammer LaneHammer Lane Thu, 02 Oct 2014 18:03:00 +0000138521 at http://fleetowner.comBulldog leashes Blimpshttp://fleetowner.com/blog/bulldog-leashes-blimps
<div class="node-body blog-body"><div></div><p>Determining that its newer and larger <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/10/airships/100607/">airships</a> would be better served tethered to a specialized truck when not in the air-- rather than moored to the ground as had been its earlier <a href="http://www.goodyearblimp.com/">Blimps</a>-- <a href="http://www.goodyear.com/">Goodyear</a> turned to<a href="http://www.macktrucks.com/"> Mack</a> to build a specialized truck to handle the unique and critical job.</p></div>
<p><a href="http://fleetowner.com/blog/bulldog-leashes-blimps" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://fleetowner.com/blog/bulldog-leashes-blimps#commentsHammer Lane Thu, 18 Sep 2014 18:52:00 +0000137161 at http://fleetowner.comPaccar-VW: The rumor that wasn’thttp://fleetowner.com/blog/paccar-vw-rumor-wasn-t
<div class="node-body blog-body"><div></div><p>Germany&rsquo;s <a href="http://www.volkswagenag.com/content/vwcorp/content/en/homepage.html">Volkswagen AG </a>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/03/us-volkswagen-paccar-bernhard-idUSKBN0F809C20140703">denied weeks ago that it was planning a rumored run</a> at <a href="http://www.paccar.com/">Paccar Inc.</a>, but only yesterday did the parent of <a href="http://www.kenworth.com/">Kenworth</a> and <a href="http://www.peterbilt.com/">Peterbilt</a> <a href="wsj.com/articles/paccar-ceo-no-merger-talks-with-volkswagen-1406655684">officially squash talk of such a merger</a>, a</p></div>
<p><a href="http://fleetowner.com/blog/paccar-vw-rumor-wasn-t" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://fleetowner.com/blog/paccar-vw-rumor-wasn-t#commentsHammer LaneHammer Lane Wed, 30 Jul 2014 19:44:00 +0000132191 at http://fleetowner.com<p><em><strong>Paccar in Europe:</strong> Flagship of the OEM&#39;s DAF truck unit is the new <a href="http://www.daf.com/products/euro-6-range/daf-xf-euro-6">XF long-haul tractor</a>. Powered by Paccar&#39;s new Euro 6 emissions-certified 12.9L MX-13 and&nbsp; 10.8L MX-11 diesels, it boasts an all-new chassis, a new exterior design and a &#39;renewed&#39; interior</em></p>
The most beautiful curvehttp://fleetowner.com/blog/most-beautiful-curve
<div class="node-body blog-body"><div></div><p><strong><em>&quot;The most beautiful curve is a rising sales graph.&quot;</em></strong></p>
<p><strong>--Raymond Loewy (1893-1986)</strong></p>
<p>If everyone views trucks merely as machines highly engineered to accomplish very specific tasks, then why does anyone care what they look like?</p>
<p>I think it&rsquo;s safe to say most of us would agree that commercial vehicles, from pickups to heavy haulers, are remarkably more &ldquo;good looking&rdquo;-- especially when on the go&mdash; than they were only a generation ago.</p></div>
<p><a href="http://fleetowner.com/blog/most-beautiful-curve" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://fleetowner.com/blog/most-beautiful-curve#commentsHammer LaneHammer Lane Fri, 25 Jul 2014 18:31:00 +0000131841 at http://fleetowner.comBig haul for a traveling showhttp://fleetowner.com/blog/big-haul-traveling-show
<div class="node-body blog-body"><div></div><p><a href="http://www.ford.com/commercial-trucks/transitcommercial/">A 2015 Ford Transit full-size van</a> has joined the cast of <a href="http://www.history.com/">The History Channel&rsquo;s</a> <strong><a href="http://www.history.com/shows/american-pickers/videos?mkwid=sYnumxynT|dc_pcrid_38363890038_pkw_american%20pickers_pmt_e&amp;utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_term=american%20pickers&amp;utm_campaign=G_American+Pickers&amp;paidlink=1&amp;cmpid=PaidSearch_google_G_American+Pickers_american%20pickers&amp;gclid=CLbfneW-mr8CFcdFMgod1DQA1g"><em>American Pickers</em></a></strong> </p></div>
<p><a href="http://fleetowner.com/blog/big-haul-traveling-show" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://fleetowner.com/blog/big-haul-traveling-show#commentsHammer Lane Fri, 27 Jun 2014 16:44:00 +0000129561 at http://fleetowner.comWhere racing is a win-winhttp://fleetowner.com/blog/where-racing-win-win
<div class="node-body blog-body"><div></div><p>Captured at rest by your intrepid reporter during a &ldquo;race-fan day&rdquo; held mid-week at <a href="http://fleetowner.com/equipment/meritor-tech-customer-s-sake">Meritor&rsquo;s Cameri axle manufacturing and engineering facility in northern Italy</a> is a pair of high-powered European race trucks.</p>
<p>These and other heavy-duty racers thrilled employees and their families throughout the sunny late-May afternoon with their fairly high-speed runs around the Cameri campus.</p></div>
<p><a href="http://fleetowner.com/blog/where-racing-win-win" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://fleetowner.com/blog/where-racing-win-win#commentsHammer Lane Thu, 19 Jun 2014 16:11:00 +0000128791 at http://fleetowner.comThe Cantor effecthttp://fleetowner.com/blog/cantor-effect
<div class="node-body blog-body"><div></div><p><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/06/11/house-majority-leader-eric-cantor-loses-virginia-gop-primary-ap-reports/">The thorough thrashing at the polls</a> (11 percentage points) that will turn out of office the second-highest ranking Republican in the House will rank as a monumental political upset in the history books.</p></div>
<p><a href="http://fleetowner.com/blog/cantor-effect" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://fleetowner.com/blog/cantor-effect#commentsHammer LaneHammer Lane Wed, 11 Jun 2014 16:02:00 +0000128091 at http://fleetowner.com